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Poolman · 12-02-2013, 11:26 AM

Great! Time to spend some $

crabbey1 · 12-02-2013, 11:39 AM

Here are some comparison photos of the original equipment to the new replacement pars from Inland RV.

Poolman · 12-03-2013, 09:51 AM

crabbey1-
Did you get it all back together and working? Any hangups?
Did your new backing plates come with spline studs? or did you cleanup and reuse the old ones, or maybe just new bolt/nut combos would be fine.
Sorry for the bombardment of ??s....

carl2591 · 12-03-2013, 06:35 PM

looks like the magnet in new assembly is larger than older one.. also anyone spray painting the new drum with high temp paint to control rust ??

I found these new brake assemblies for what seem like a good price here.
Utility Trailers, Enclosed Trailers, Shivers Trailers | Agri Supply

they are local to me which is nice..

ROBERT CROSS · 12-04-2013, 06:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carl2591

looks like the magnet in new assembly is larger than older one.. also anyone spray painting the new drum with high temp paint to control rust ??

I found these new brake assemblies for what seem like a good price here.
Utility Trailers, Enclosed Trailers, Shivers Trailers | Agri Supply

they are local to me which is nice..

Just a retired knuckle buster commenting here....

They may be the best thing since Thor took over Airstream, but I'm a bit skeptical of $49 brake shoes. How they can supply the whole 9yds for that price is a wonderment....China is a long ways away.

Dexter replaced my brake shoes under warranty recently, they didn't require a core return.
It will cost me $80 to have them re-lined locally, I'm much more comfortable with that option.

For some the 49 dollar route is very appealing because of the ease of accomplishment....understandable.
Do do your own research & rationalization and decide.....

I wouldn't worry about a bit of rust on the outside, it's the friction surface's inside thats important.

Bob

carl2591 · 12-05-2013, 03:43 PM

I went by and took a look myself and they do say made in china..
they do look like the ones in the pictures so not sure the difference. the brakes are bonded not riveted on.

picked up a 12" hub with 8 bolts and man that thing is HEAVY...

so what is the pricing on the dexter backing plate kits with all the stuff shown.. vs the ones made in china..

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

Just a retired knuckle buster commenting here....

They may be the best thing since Thor took over Airstream, but I'm a bit skeptical of $49 brake shoes. How they can supply the whole 9yds for that price is a wonderment....China is a long ways away.

Dexter replaced my brake shoes under warranty recently, they didn't require a core return.
It will cost me $80 to have them re-lined locally, I'm much more comfortable with that option.

For some the 49 dollar route is very appealing because of the ease of accomplishment....understandable.
Do do your own research & rationalization and decide.....

I wouldn't worry about a bit of rust on the outside, it's the friction surface's inside thats important.

Bob

perryg114 · 12-05-2013, 04:02 PM

Dexter I am sure is made in China as well. If you are looking for American made parts you won't find them.

Perry

crabbey1 · 12-05-2013, 04:57 PM

So now that I have installed the new brakes, is there a way to test them other than hitting the road?

polarlyse · 12-05-2013, 05:04 PM

Don't know of any other way. I always try mine out when I hook up. I manually apply them as I pull off at very low speed. Sometimes I'll try them out if I'm on a gravel parking lot just to see if they all grab evenly. I wonder if someone is standing next to a wheel if they would be able to hear the magnet snap to the drum. If yes then you could carefully listen to each wheel to make sure they apply. Have to try that one day.

crabbey1 · 12-05-2013, 05:59 PM

I did the sound test. When the brakes are applied you can def hear an "Electricity" sound. The new brakes don't seem to grab as hard as the older ones though... Even when I pump up the brake controller. Is that normal? Is that because they are self-adjusting? I am used to brake grabbing harder and quicker when I change out my pads and rotors on my cars. I have no previous experience with these electric brakes though...

ROBERT CROSS · 12-05-2013, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by perryg114

Dexter I am sure is made in China as well. If you are looking for American made parts you won't find them.

Perry

These replacements are chinamade for sure....

The originals lasted 7yrs 25K+ and were much more robust. Dexter told me last year that they were in the process of returning mfg back to N. America...'wanna buy a bridge?

These were replaced after 6000mi.

They were not worn out, the lining is very thin even when new, nowhere near what you would see on the auto variety shoe.
The bonding failed, no evidence at all of overheating.

When you inspect your brakes pay careful attention to the ends, if you see any space at all between lining and shoe, toss 'em.
Also check the sides for space, and the facing for stress cracks, evident on all these shoes. You can see what happened when I lifted the loose end.

Dexter did replace the shoes N/C..... so the fancy Dexter box was worth something after all.

I have the cores and will have them re-built locally with riveted linings if the need arises.

Bob

Silverflames · 12-05-2013, 06:01 PM

If the wheels are off the ground, you can press down the brake pedal with a board, or use a cinder block to hold it down. then try spinning the wheels while they are off the ground.

I was able to hear a slight hum with my old breaks, but not with the new ones.

polarlyse · 12-05-2013, 06:19 PM

I just had my drums off to inspect the brakes and re-pack the bearings. Linings looked good to me. Not sure when they were installed. We bought the trailer from a friend 1.5yrs ago. I may replace before summer travels though. Keep in mind, when installing the self adjusting units that the first adjustment should be made manually after putting the drum back on. I don't know how effective the self adjusting mechanism would be for that first time. I recommend doing a first adjustment the old fashioned way and from then on the self adjusting should be able to take over that job.

perryg114 · 12-05-2013, 06:21 PM

Yes the shoes from China are thin and cheap. I hope Dexter does start making them here again. If the lining is too thin it will take forever for them to seat in. The Chinese ones have about 1/8" on them new. You need at least 3/16" to 1/4" in my opinion.

Perry

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

These replacements are chinamade for sure....

The originals lasted 7yrs 25K+ and were much more robust. Dexter told me last year that they were in the process of returning mfg back to N. America...'wanna buy a bridge?

These were replaced after 6000mi.

They were not worn out, the lining is very thin even when new, nowhere near what you would see on the auto variety shoe.
The bonding failed, no evidence at all of overheating.

When you inspect your brakes pay careful attention to the ends, if you see any space at all between lining and shoe, toss 'em.
Also check the sides for space, and the facing for stress cracks, evident on all these shoes. You can see what happened when I lifted the loose end.

Dexter did replace the shoes N/C..... so the fancy Dexter box was worth something after all.

I have the cores and will have them re-built locally with riveted linings if the need arises.

Bob

Lance M · 12-05-2013, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crabbey1

I did the sound test. When the brakes are applied you can def hear an "Electricity" sound. The new brakes don't seem to grab as hard as the older ones though... Even when I pump up the brake controller. Is that normal? Is that because they are self-adjusting? I am used to brake grabbing harder and quicker when I change out my pads and rotors on my cars. I have no previous experience with these electric brakes though...

Have you burnished the shoes into the drums?

From Dexter-
"NOTE: After replacing your brake shoes and magnets you will experience a decrease in braking performance until the components have worn into the drum and finished the burnishing process. This process requires many stops to bring the new shoe's performance back to normal. This may take more than 100 stops to finish this break-in period with stops of 20 mph decreases in speed."

See page 16
http://www.united-trailers.com/Uploa...s/Manual_6.pdf

crabbey1 · 12-05-2013, 07:25 PM

So to burnish them is to just use them approx 100 times? No I have not had 100 + stops at over 20 mph yet. I only had the trailer out once since I did the install. But this is good information to hear... Thanks Top.

Lance M · 12-05-2013, 07:27 PM

Hey, you are welcome.
20-30 times should do you

"After replacement of brake shoes and linings, the brakes must be
re-burnished to seat in the new components. This should be done
by applying the brakes 20 to 30 times from an initial speed of 40
m.p.h., slowing the vehicle to 20 m.p.h. Allow ample time for
brakes to cool between applications. This procedure allows the
brake shoes to seat in to the drum surface."

carl2591 · 12-07-2013, 02:29 PM

So could you take a battery and attach brake wires to check the basic operation with out having the TV elec hooked up?.. what is voltage needed to activate brakes.. i figure it has a min and max but not sure what that number might be.

that way you can at least listen for the mag engagement and check for some resistance on the drum..

just throwing out ideas here.

cwf · 12-10-2013, 09:11 AM

Yes you can hook battery directly....if using fused circuit. Do NOT directly connect without fuse!

Ganaraska · 12-10-2013, 10:32 AM

Re: grooved brake drums and shoes. Grooved or worn brake drums work just fine with matching grooved shoes. In other words, they wore in together and they match. As long as the shoes are not worn out, or the lining separating from the shoe.

There is a funny story about this that I will not bore you with now.

The shoes and drums must match. This is why, when you replace the brake shoes you must turn the drums or replace them if they are not smooth.

Funny drum brake story. Back before disc brakes became common, the best heavy duty brakes were drum brakes with cerametallic linings. These linings were fade proof but very hard, they scored the brake drums quickly.

GM sponsored a Corvette racing team that used these cerametallic brakes. After every race, the brake drums and linings would be all rutted and chewed up looking so they put on new brakes before the next race.

One week they were pressed for time so they went to the races with the old brakes still on.

The worn out brake worked like gangbusters. When they took off the drums for inspection they found almost no wear. They still looked just as bad as when they started and hadn't got any worse.

Then they realized that far from being worn out, the brakes were just broken in. After that they did not worry about scoring of the brake drums. They left them until the linings were worn out then put on new drums and linings.